Storms of Power
by DutchLingBETA
Summary: As Harry finds himself with new and massive powers, he starts to prepare for the coming war against Voldemort. However, Harry finds there are some things that even huge magical power can't solve. Love, friendship, trust and secrets are among them. As the world plunges into chaos and war, Harry must fight him own battle against himself, in order to master his new powers.
1. Chapter 1

1

Harry Potter was sitting on his bed, staring absentmindedly at the far wall of his bedroom. He hadn't moved in hours, and his green eyes were far away, occupied with dark thoughts. Most of those thought settled around Sirius Black, his now dead godfather. Dead, because he had been stupid enough to fall for a trap Voldemort had set in motion. The feared Dark Lord had been playing with his mind all year without Harry even noticing. He had run into the trap with open eyes, not once stopping to look back and reflect his rash behavior. And because of his recklessness, his godfather had been killed fighting off Death Eaters. A shiver ran up his spine as he closed his eyes for a brief second, trying to push the memories that were flooding him back into the dark corners of his mind. His scar seared painfully, and Harry grimaced. He had not had another vision of Voldemort this summer, but he knew that the Dark Lord was still somewhere out there, waiting for the right time to strike at him again. His jaw set in a firm line as anger welled up inside him. He wasn't going to be played around with again. He would meet his fate head on, as his parents had done so many years ago.

That brought his thoughts to another disturbing memory. After the death of Sirius, Harry had been a wreck. He was taken to Dumbledore's office. It was there that the Headmaster had finally explained to him why Voldemort wanted to kill him all those years ago. There had been a prophecy, spoken by the divination professor he had never really liked. In fact, he had thought her to be a total fraud. It seemed, however, that professor Trelawney had been able to predict that a baby had been born with the secret power to defeat Voldemort. Voldemort had reacted, and had killed of his parents. It had deprived him of his body and much of his magical abilities. It was only slightly more than a year ago that the Dark Lord had been able to return, using Harry's own blood in a dark magic ritual in his fourth year. Harry shook his head, pushing the images of the haunting graveyard back into his mind. He didn't want to dwell on the past too much. He must now focus on the future, and his destiny.

He again worked himself up into anger. He would be the one to defeat Voldemort, but he had no clue as to how he was supposed to defeat the most feared dark wizard in history. He did not see himself as having a secret power big enough to defeat Voldemort. He shook his head as he mind dwelled on the incredible duel he had seen between Dumbledore and Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic. He shivered again as he thought of the amounts of magic released between the two dualists. He could never hope to achieve that much raw power, he knew, and that made him almost succumb to a new wave of depression. Just how was he supposed to beat Voldemort, if he couldn't even touch him without needing the help of others. He shook his head yet again, too tired to dwell of those matters anymore. So he just stared at the far wall of his room as the light of the day slowly gave way to the darkness of the night. Slowly, without him even noticing, his eyes dropped and closed. Harry's mind drifted away towards the realm of dreams, his last conscious thought being the question on how he would be able to finish of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Harry opened his eyes and looked around. He was standing in a giant hallway; build up from white marble and strange stones he didn't recognize. It was cold, and a slight breeze swept past him. He walked towards the main dais that was centered in the middle of the large hall. His footsteps sounded hollow against the enormous stone walls. Above his head, a huge dome at least a hundred feet high was painted with images of warriors. Harry stopped and looked at the images again. His breath caught in his throat. The warriors were not fighting each other with swords, but with wands. Spells burst from their wands in strange colors.

'What is this place?' Harry asked himself. As soon as he had spoken, the room shook and rumbled. Several doors opened. Harry drew his wand and stepped back from the dais, his heart hammering in his chest. Images from the Department of Mystifications tried to push their way into his mind. Maybe this was another trap? He half expected to see Death Eaters emerging from the corridors, but nothing happened. Just as he was about to relax, a booming voice spoke from behind him. 'Who enters the domain of the Higher Order?'

Harry spun around, his eyes wide as he searched for the source of the voice. His eyes fell on the golden phoenix seated on the marble floor. It seemed to bleed magic, it's waves strange and thrilling. Harry felt his throat go dry as Goosebumps appeared on his arms. The bright eyes of the phoenix looked towards him, and Harry could see genuine curiosity in them. The phoenix looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. Harry gulped. 'I'm Harry Potter,' he said. 'What is this place? I have never been here before.' He looked around as he spoke, taking in more details of the enormous hallway. He was sure he had never seen anything like this before in the wizarding world, even though he knew he had not been introduced to every magical place in Brittain. Still, the room seemed strangely odd and old, as if it didn't belong in his lifetime.

The phoenix chuckled and shook his head. 'My brothers and sisters are coming,' he said in a grave voice. 'It has been a long time since a human last visited our lair. We are not used to human company anymore. I think, however, that I am able to answer your first question. You are in the Hall of the Phoenix, the ancient dwelling of the Higher Order of Magic. I am the supreme guardian of this hall, and the power that is stored here.' The brightness of the phoenix seemed to flare a moment as the beast spoke, and his voice was hard. His eyes were still weighting Harry, as if looked for something. Harry shivered under the intense gaze of the phoenix, not knowing what to do. He knew he was dreaming, but still, this didn't seem like a normal dream at all.

Soon, more phoenixes began appearing in the hall. There exited murmurs drew closer as they formed a perfect circle around Harry. Some were black, others were red, and there were two or three white phoenixes. All of their eyes stared knowingly at him. He turned his attention to the supreme guardian. 'Why am I here?' he asked. He hadn't had the slightest clue as to what he was supposed to do. Chuckles flared all around him. The supreme guardian looked him up and down. 'You are modest,' he said in a slow voice. 'Most people who travel here are seeking raw power. They want to rule, or be better than the rest of mortals. You are different. You don't actively seek power for your own good.' He nodded. 'You seek power to defeat a great evil. I know that evil. The man behind the mask has been visiting us. It has been years, but I still remember his name. Tom Marvolo Riddle.'

Harry's eyes went wide. 'Voldemort has been here?' he asked, his voice grave. 'Did you give him power?' This could be the answer, he thought, the answer as to how Voldemort had achieved his powers. The supreme guardian shook it's head. 'No,' he said solemnly. 'We did not give him anything. His evil thoughts bled right through his soul, so we were able to see the real motivations behind his request. We have been waiting for years for a person who would be able to defeat him. I know of the prophecy that is binding you two together. I know what you have to do, Harry Potter.' The phoenixes eyes held his own green eyes.

Harry gulped. 'I don't know what to say,' he whispered. 'I have no idea how I am able to beet Voldemort. He is so strong. He has years of experience over me. I will never be able to defeat him with my current knowledge. And the war has already started.' He shook, trying to reign in his emotions. 'I know people are dying. They are dying every day, because I seem to be unable to fulfill my destiny.'

'I know. I can see your internal struggle Harry Potter,' the phoenix said. 'And I can feel your sincerity. You do not seek power just for the benefit of power alone. You want to use power to make the moral worlds a better place.' He paused for a moment and locked gazes with each of the phoenixes. There seemed to be a silent conversation going on. Harry looked around, unsure of what he should do. Suddenly, the supreme guardian returned his attention to Harry and began speaking again. 'The member of the Highest Order agree with me. You are the Chosen One. You are the person that is to rid the mortal world of evil. For that purpose, we will give you the power of the Highest Order.' A blinding light filled Harry's vision as the supreme guardian spook. A rushing sound filled his ears. It seemed every muscle in his body was tensing up and rippling. Shivers broke out all over his body. He tried to make a sound, but no sound escaped his throat.

After what seemed like an eternity, his vision and speech returned. 'What was that?' he asked in a hoarse voice. He felt strange, as if something was added to his body. He looked down at his hands, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. 'We have given you the power of the Highest Order,' the supreme guardian explained in a serious voice. 'You will find, when you wake up, that you don't need glasses anymore. You're physical endurance will be vastly improving in the coming weeks. You will find your knowledge and magical abilities growing rapidly in the next hours, although it might take you some weeks to be fully able to make the magic work. We advise you to be cautious, though, as you're not yet comfortable with this amount of magic. Train one hour every day. That way, it shouldn't be too hard to master your new abilities.' The supreme guardian nodded. 'We will speak again, before the end. Now go, and do what you have to do. I bid you succeed, Harry Potter.'

Harry woke up and blinked his eyes. It took him several seconds to comprehend that he was seeing everything around him as clear as he had with his glasses on. A wicked smile formed on his lips as he stared at his hands. He could feel the magic coursing through him. It felt a little bit strange, but it was huge. He inhaled sharply as he gasped just how much magic was running through his body. It was enormous. Slowly, he pointed his hand forward. The magic seemed to surge through his arm, ready to be unleashed. '_Lumos_,' Harry whispered. A ball of light appeared, bright enough the chase the shadows to the far corners of his room. It didn't take any effort to sustain the bright ball of light. With a slight grin, Harry added a levitation charm to the ball of light, bouncing it up and down. He then proceeded to change the color of the light in rapid succession without breaking a sweat.

'Wandless magic,' he whispered as me made the light disappear. 'Amazing.' The more he thought on it, the more knowledge seemed available to him. He could easily thing of a hundred spells that he could use using wandless magic. It was amazing, since he had never been a studying type. A grin spread on his face as he let out a large breath. He could still feel the magic surging through his body. Thrilled, he tried several more spells, making them more powerful and complex as he went on. When he was finished, he fell back on his bed, staring at the sealing of his bedroom. Hope flared inside of him. Maybe, just maybe, he had a chance to defeat Voldemort. With his new powers, he would be able to try more advance spellwork and shielding spells. He felt his resolve strengthening. There was hope, and he was ready to take that hope. The rest of the night was spend mastering his new abilities, and when a new dawn broke above Brittain, Harry Potter felt stronger than he had in weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Ginny Weasley was pacing back and forth. Her temper rose with every second that passed, and she shot some murderous glared towards her family. Ron was still rowing with her mother over his trunk. He had seemingly, again, forgotten to pack several important items back at the Burrow. He was truly unbelievable. Ginny silently cursed him as she shot another glare towards the huge clock hanging at the station. They had only several minutes left before the Hogwarts Express would be leaving. They had to hurry.

With only six minutes left, they arrived at platform nine and three quarters. Several students were still talking to their families, but most had already boarded the steaming Hogwarts Express. Ginny immediately recognized the Aurors standing guard on the platform. Their eyes were searching everywhere for even a hint of a threat. Ginny shivered. She knew why the Aurors were there. They would be fighting off Death Eaters, should Voldemort decide to try to sabotage the Hogwarts Express. Undoubtedly, there would be some Aurors and member of the Order on the train as well. Ginny tore her eyes away from the Aurors and bid goodbye to her mother, father and older brothers. Together with Ron, she rushed to the train. They boarded just as the whistle sounded, alarming everybody on the platform that the Express was about to leave. Mothers, fathers and other family members waved at their kids, wishing them luck on school. Shouts of goodbye filled the platform.

Ginny hold herself as the train began moving. She waved one last time at her parents and brothers, and then turned to Ron. 'If you had taken any longer rowing with Mum, we might actually have missed the bloody train,' she scolded and shook her head. 'Why didn't you start packing earlier on, Ron? You knew we would depart today.' Her blazing eyes locked with the defiant eyes of Ron. A red blush crept up on her brothers cheeks, a clear sign of his growing anger towards her. She smirked at him knowingly. 'Let's go and find Harry,' she said teasingly. Her smirk grew. 'And I'm sure that you are more than willing to go look for Hermione, don't you Ron?' Ron opened his mouth and closed it again, his blush ever deepening. He growled something Ginny couldn't make out and stormed off. Ginny followed him, a knowing smile plastered on her face.

Harry smiled as he looked out of the window. He had found an empty compartment and had tucked his trunk away using some wandless magic. He had just seated himself when he hear familiar voices. A grin spread across his face as his eyes darted towards the door. Only seconds later, Ron and Ginny appeared. They seemed to be arguing, their faces red and only inches apart. Their blazing row stopped as soon as they sighted Harry. Ginny's eyes widened as she looked at him, and Ron was staring as if he saw a ghost. Harry's smile grew as he waved at them. He knew he looked different than the previous term. His hair had grown somewhat, and his glasses were gone. He had transfigured his clothes so that they actually fit him for a change. He had been pleased by his changes, but nervous about the reaction his friends and classmates would be giving him as term started again.

Ron opened the door and quickly walked in, dragging his trunk behind him. Ginny followed, still looking at Harry with a strange expression on her face. It was as if she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. As they both sat down, Harry greeted them with a nod of his head. 'It's good to see you two,' he said in a bright voice. 'How was your summer? I'm sorry for the lack of writing, but the Order didn't deem it wise to contact you too often. Information could fall into the wrong hands.' His face darkened for a second before a wide grin returned. He was truly happy to see his friends again. He had missed them over the summer, unable to write as much as he would like. The security risks had been too high, the Order had deemed, so he had been confined to three letter a week.

'We've been doing alright,' Ginny said slowly. She looked him up and down. 'It seems that you have been busy over the summer as well. What happened to your glasses?' She stared in his green eyes. Harry grinned. He had debated telling his friends about the new powers he had achieved, but decided against it. They would know once he was ready, once he knew for certain that his new abilities would not be able to fall into the wrong hands. It stung him that he had to keep secrets from his friends, but the war pushed him to make some decisions that went against his own feelings. That was life. 'I've visited a muggle hospital,' he explained, looking at his two friends. 'They have a technique that restores your sight. The operation was successful, luckily. I don't need my glasses anymore.' He grinned at them, hoping they would fall for his lie. It would be much harder to convince Hermione, since his friend had grown up in the muggle world, just as he had. He would need to put in some more effort if he was to convince her of his lie as well, he knew.

His two friends seemed to take his lie for granted. The conversation soon moved on to Hogwarts, and the classes they were taking. Ginny seemed a bit nervous about her OWL year coming up, so Harry tried to calm her nerves. All the time he was talking, he kept an eye on the door, looking out for Hermione. It didn't take long for her brushy haired friend to appear, a bright smile tucked on her face. 'Hi,' she greeted everybody. As her eyes fell on Harry, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes roomed his body. Harry shifted uncomfortably and averted her searching gaze. After a second or two, Hermione sat down next to Ron. 'What have you done Harry?' she asked.

Harry proceeded to tell her the story he had told Ron and Ginny. He added some more details which made the two Weasley's glance at each other. Hermione, however, nodded, a slight smile on her lips. 'You look good,' she commented. 'I don't know, I had expected to find you somewhat … down. You seem to be handling well.' She studied him again as she spook. Ron and Ginny looked at him expectantly. 'I learned to deal with death the hard way,' Harry said in a solemn voice. 'Sirius wouldn't want me to be down and let grief take over my life. I am way past that point. The summer was hard, in some ways, but I think I came out as a better person. I will just have to see how things unfold coming term.' He grinned softly, knowing the hidden meaning behind his own words. His best friends would be in for quite a surprise as soon as classes started again and he could show his new magical abilities.

Just as he was about to tell his friends another story, the door to the compartment swung open again. Draco Malfoy entered, backed by his usual bodyguards. If possible, Crabbe and Goyle had grown even more massive over the summer. Their scowls were directed towards the Gryffindor's as Malfoy walked in, an air of superiority swirling around him. 'Look what we have here,' he drawled. 'A mudblood, two Weasley's and Scarhead. How nice of you too come back to Hogwarts this year, given the circumstances.'

Ron shot upward, ready to retort. However, before he was able to say a word, Harry held up his hand to silence him. Dumbfounded, Ron looked at him. Slowly he sat down again. Harry held his gaze for a second and then turned to address Malfoy. 'Can you explain to me why you come barging in here to taunt my friends?' he replied in a cold voice. 'It seems to me you have absolutely no business here Malfoy. So sod off, now.' His voice had grown colder, almost dangerous. Malfoy, ignorant as he was, just smirked at him. 'Huge words for somebody so irrelevant as you,' he sneered. 'Shut your mouth Potter. You really have no reason to talk, since your already half dead. Times are changing. You choose the wrong side long ago, and now you will pay for that.' He laughed. Crabbe and Goyle followed suit, although they didn't seemed to understand why Malfoy was laughing.

Harry stood up. The laughter died down. 'I strongly comment you leave this compartment right now Malfoy, before I hex you out,' Harry growled. He could feel his magic building inside his body. He wasn't willing to take any more insults from the Slytherin boy this year. Things had gone far enough. He also hadn't forgotten the role his father, Lucius Malfoy, had played in the Department of Mystification previous year. He would not hesitate a moment before hexing young Malfoy into the corridors. Malfoy just sneered at him. 'I don't believe what I'm hearing,' he said loudly. 'Potter threatening me. You should have learned your lesson previous year, Potter. Or have you already forgotten what happened to your precious godfather? Tell me, Potter, how can you be so sure the next time it isn't one of your friends that's killed by the Dark Lord. I think…'

Malfoy wasn't able to finish his sentence. In a fraction of a second Harry had drawn his wand and aimed at Malfoy. He growled a curse. A purple beam shot out of his wand and hit Malfoy square in his chest. The blonde boy flew back into the corridor, smacking against the far wall with a loud thud. Magic swirled around Harry as a raging storm as he stepped closer to Malfoy. 'Don't you dare threaten my friends ever again,' he hissed in a low voice, power bleeding from his words. 'I won't allow any of this anymore Draco. It's over. Go away, and stay away, if you know what's good for you. And never, ever say another word about Sirius, else you will regret it.' He released the curse holding Malfoy up. The boy slumped down as Harry turned his back on him.

Just as he was about to speak to his friends again, he saw Ginny's eyes widen in horror as she stared past him. Harry just smiled. He could feel Draco casting a hex of his own. The beam of light shot against his shield and disappeared. Harry turned around, his wand stretched out. Within a second he had shot Malfoy's wand from his hand, and then proceeded to shot another hex against the boy. Malfoy flew back meters into the corridor, grinding to a halt at least ten meters away. Grabbe and Goyle seemed dumbstruck as they stared at their motionless friend. 'Go after him,' Harry said in a deadly cold voice. 'Drag him back to your compartment. Try not to cross my path again, please. I'm in no mood to accept any more of your stupid comments. Go!' The two hulking boys almost run away from him. Harry watched as they dragged Malfoy down towards another compartment. It seemed the Slytherin was still half unconscious. Harry smiled. He then turned around and entered the compartment, meeting the stunned gazes of his friends. 'He had to be dealt with,' he said defensively. 'I wasn't in the mood to let him insult my friends like that. Sorry.' A deadly silence descended on the compartment, until Ron shook his head. 'I don't know mate,' he said in a serious tone. 'But that was bloody brilliant!' The compartment erupted in sincere laughter.

As soon as they entered Hogwarts, a voice called out. 'Mr. Potter, can I speak to you for a moment?' Harry turned as Dumbledore came striding towards him. His eyes held his own for a second, before Harry nodded. He shot his friends a glance, smiling. He turned around and followed the Headmaster to a small room while the rest of the students filled into the Great Hall, eagerly anticipating the opening feast.

Harry followed Dumbledore into the small office. The Headmaster closed the door and turned towards Harry. 'I've heard some disturbing rumors,' he said solemnly. 'Draco Malfoy claims you attacked him on the train. Is that true?' The blue eyes of the Headmaster bore into his, asking for an honest answer. Worry was etched on his face. Harry steeled himself and took a second to go over his mental barriers. One of the benefits of the Highest Order knowledge poured into his head was Oclummenty. He was fairly certain he was by now able to block even Dumbledore and Snape from his mind, should they try to invade his thoughts. 'I did,' he said in a low voice. 'He threatened to hex my friends, so I pushed him out. As soon as I turned my back on him, he tried to hex me. So I disarmed him and threw him down the corridor. I'm sorry Headmaster, but I don't regret what I've done even a bit.'

Dumbledore nodded slowly. 'Alright,' he said. 'I assume I can forgive you, Harry. But please try to stay out of a fight the next time. It would do you no good this year to be in detention half of your time.' The Headmaster chuckled to himself and shook his head. Harry nodded, unsure what he should do. It was clear that Malfoy had tried to blame him, but he hadn't succeeded in swaying Dumbledore. Harry suspected the old Headmaster knew more of what was going on between his students than he let loose. Harry made a mental note to himself to be careful in his choice of words.

'I took you here for another reason,' Dumbledore said, his voice grave. This drew Harry's attention back. 'What is it?' he asked slowly. Dumbledore looked at him, and the usual twinkle in his eyes was gone. 'I want you to prepare yourself for the war Harry,' he said in a whisper. 'We have only a little time left before the war will really be starting. The first attacks are already happening. The Order will fight, but I doubt it will be enough to hold Voldemort at bay for long.' He shook his head. 'I want to give you personal lessons once a week. We will study dueling and new curses, powerful shield and so on. Maybe we will be able to make you ready for your destiny.'

Harry nodded. 'I'm aright with that, I think,' he said. In his mind, he was already thinking of possibilities to show his new abilities. He would need to show Dumbledore that he was ready to fight, but it seemed unwise to give away his full potential already. He knew that nobody would understand where his sudden power would come from, and he was not yet ready to tell people of the Highest Order. 'Good,' Dumbledore said. 'Now go and enjoy the feast. I think the Sorting will be almost done, so the food will be ready.' He grinned. Harry nodded politely and opened the door. His mind was making up new plans as he moved towards the open doors of the Great Hall. This should prove to be an interesting term, he conclude with a grin on his face. A very interesting term, indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Harry strode into the Great Hall. His eyes searched for his friends. As soon as he found them, he walked over. There worried glances were only met by a knowing smile. 'Nothing's wrong,' he whispered as he sat himself down. 'Dumbledore understood what happened. It seems, however, that Malfoy will have to spend the first day back in the Hospital Wing.' His statement made his friends grin widely. As Harry loaded food onto his plate, his eyes wandered the teacher's table. He saw all the familiar people sitting there, including Snape and the stern looking McGonagall. Even Hagrid was present. Harry immediately saw the bruises covering much of Hagrid's left cheek. He made a mental note to himself to pry his old friend on just how he got those bruises.

As soon as the food disappeared from the tables, deadly silence descended on the Great Hall. All eyes turned towards the staff table, were Dumbledore now stood behind the table. His eyes twinkled as he surveyed the hundreds of students before him. A ghost of a smile was plastered to his face. 'Welcome back to each and every one of you,' he said in a loud voice, spreading his arms to encompass all students. 'Welcome back to another year of hard working and learning.' His speech was met with muffled groans and whispers from most of the older students. Dumbledore grinned and shook his head. 'First of all, I have a few new announcements to make. The Forbidden Forest remains, as always, strictly forbidden to any student without a teacher's permission. I strongly warn against upsetting mister Filch, so please memorize the list of forbidden items.' His eyes shined as they landed for the briefest of moments on the Gryffindor table. 'Also, I want to stress to you all that several new security wards and measures have been taken around Hogwarts to ensure our continued safety in the face of recent events.'

Harry looked up at the old Headmaster. His face was suddenly changing to a closed and hard expression. His eyes had lost their twinkle. 'You all know that the dark wizard who calls himself Lord Voldemort has returned,' Dumbledore pressed on. His statement was met with a loud and collective gasp from the students. 'His followers have already begun attacking families and towns. It will only get worse as time passes. Voldemort is an evil being, barely human. He will not stop until he has completely destroyed everything we hold dear, or until something or somebody stops his deadly reign. Therefore I urge you to report any strange sightings of suspicions to your Head of House. We are here to protect you, but we need all your help to keep Hogwarts safe. We must set aside our old rivalries and feuds and work together. Only the power of love can defeat darkness.'

A silence descended on the four tables. Harry looked over at the Slytherin table. He saw to his great anger that only half of the table seemed to listen to Dumbledore. Several of the older students were looking extremely bored, and some were even whispered to each other, laughing about something. Harry took a deep breath to calm himself. He would heed the advice of Dumbledore, but he knew he would be extremely hard pressed to ever fully trust a Slytherin. 'Now,' the Headmasters voice continued in a much brighter tone. 'Since I've said everything I need to say, I think it's time for you to go to bed. Take a good night sleep, because tomorrow classes start. Goodnight.' With that, the Headmaster seated himself and started a conversation with several professors. Prefects stood up to guide the nervous first years towards their dormitories, while much of the older students simply sought out friends and walked away chatting excitedly. Harry waited for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to catch up with him before they climbed towards the Gryffindor tower.

As they reached their tower, Hermione gave the password. She had, as always, been the only one to remember it so quick. As the four made their way towards the seats around the fire, Harry held back slightly. He extended his magic towards the entire common room and the dormitories, wandlessly casting a simple ward. It would warn him if anything or anybody with evil intentions tried to enter the tower. The memory of Peter Pettigrew was still coursing strongly through his mind. He didn't want to risk another infiltration now that the war was starting in earnest. He sighted contently and pushed his magic down.

'I wonder who the new Defense professor is,' Ron said after a moment of silence. 'We haven't seen him at the feast, right? There were no new faces.' Hermione nodded, looking as though she was thrilled to examine this little mystery. Ginny shrugged. 'I don't care who the new professor is,' she exclaimed. 'Everything is better than Umbrigde. I hope I never see that toad again in my life.' She shivered and shot Harry a quick glance. Harry smiled and nodded his head. He and Umbrigde had a terrible time, and he was still angry at her, but he would not let himself dwell on those bad memories. He had learned to keep his emotions in check with Umbrigde, and he knew that he could apply that lesson to other persons as well. An image of Snape shot into his mind and he chuckled softly to himself. Yes, he would definitely be needing something to keep his temper in check this term.

Ginny got up and suppressed a yawn. 'I'm going to bed,' she exclaimed. 'I think I'll need all my energy to keep awake tomorrow morning in class.' She made a face. Harry smiled and glanced towards Hermione. The girl seemed totally undone by Ginny's words. Her mouth opened and closed again, and her eyes blazed. Ginny grinned, clearly seeing that her words had stung, and made her way to the stairs leading upwards to the girl dormitories. Harry stared as she walked away, feeling a strange tickle in his stomach. He shook his head and concentrated on his friends again. 'Can you believe her?' Hermione asked as Ginny had disappeared. 'She talks like she doesn't want classes. Like she doesn't want to learn!' Her voice was harsh and rose a pitch. Harry and Ron shared a knowing grin. Both decided not to comment on Hermione's outraged statement. They knew better than that. Their brushy haired friend had always been fervent in her studying, and Harry knew that wasn't going to suddenly change this year round. They talked for an hour or so before Ron and Harry moved towards their own dormitories. As Harry entered the overly familiar room he inhaled deeply and smiled. Finally he was home again. Home, were he belonged.

The next morning, Harry awoke early. He stretched himself before he got out of bed and dressed in his school robes. He looked around to find the rest of his dorm mates still snoring loudly, oblivious to the new morning. With a smile he descended the stairs and took one of the seats in the still empty common room. When he was sure nobody was watching him, he let his magic course through his body. For weeks during the summer he had spent every moment awake practicing with his new magical reserves. The immense power coursing through his veins still scared him sometimes. He knew he had to be really careful in classes when he was ordered to cast a spell. He didn't want to show off his new abilities just yet, and was in no mood to answer questions about the sources of his new power. The longer the surprise lasted, the longer he would be able to keep an advantage over Voldemort. He knew for certain that the Dark Lord had several eyes and ears within Hogwarts. Shaking his head, he again focused on his magic.

Harry raised his wand. Tiny balls of silver and red light appeared before him. Without a wand he made them swirl in intricate patterns, while he added some more balls and levitated several small objects from the room. He began changing the colors and shapes of the items, willing more magic into his spells to make them more powerful and enduring. He could feel some sweat on his forehead, but he knew that was just the concentration. He had never before tested the limits of his new power. An idea formed in his head. He would have some free time coming Tuesday. He would go to the Room of Requirement to do some exercises. He would there be able to safely use his maximum strength, unable to harm anybody of cause serious damage to the castle. He grinned as he pushed his magic away. It was only a moment later that Hermione descended the stairs, blinking sheepishly as she saw Harry already up and dressed so early. Harry just smiled at her.

First lesson that day was Charms. Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way towards the brightly illuminated classroom, where professor Flitwick was already waiting. The small professor greeted them enthusiastically and waved them into the room. Harry and Ron seated themselves in the front of the class. Hermione soon joined them and soon the three of them were working on a difficult charm that was intended to reflect sunlight. They were all handed out a simple mirror to perform the spell correctly. Harry took the mirror firmly in his hand and unleashed his magic. Within a second the light in the mirror seemed to flicker and dim, as the shadows disappeared. He looked on smugly as his mirror was perfectly bright, with not a single trace of shadows in sight.

'How were you able to do that?' Hermione whispered. She looked as if he had just transformed himself into a giant snake or something. Harry shrugged, not really knowing what to say. He hadn't expected the spell to come to him that easily. He silently thanked the Highest Order for the knowledge he now possessed. 'I don't know,' he replied slowly after several seconds of silence. 'I just did it, I guess. I didn't really think about the spell when I was casting it. It just worked.' He shrugged again. Someplace down he felt bad for lying to Hermione, but he knew that it was impossible to tell her any of his secrets just yet. It had to remain a secret until he was able to completely shield his abilities from the searching eyes of Voldemort. He simply could not take the risk of losing his only advantage.

Hermione made a groaning sound and concentrated on her own mirror. With a furious wave of her wand, she tried the spell herself. Harry saw that there were still some shadows left. His grin widened as he shook his head. He was not used to being better than Hermione in class, and he couldn't deny the thrill he felt as Hermione stared at her mirror in utter shock. Just as she was about to say something more, Flitwick appeared. He praised Harry for the quick mastering of the spell. 'Ten points to Gryffindor,' he squeaked delighted. 'I always knew there was some hidden potential inside you mister Potter. You have done a great job today, so I hope to see more of this in the near future.' He walked away, leaving behind a grinning Harry and a fuming Hermione. Her eyes blazed as she concentrated on her own spell again, seemingly determined to catch up on Harry.

The rest of the lesson past by without another incident. As Harry and Ron made their way towards their next class, Ron held him back. 'That was bloody amazing mate,' he said in a serious voice. 'I've never seen anyone better Hermione in class. You should have seen her face. I think it's about time somebody put her in place.' He nodded. Harry grinned and shook his head. He already knew Ron had some serious feelings for Hermione. The bossing around and snapping was just one of the many symptoms. 'I wonder,' he said out loud. 'Maybe she is a little bit upset. She's used to being the best in every class on almost every subject, you know. Maybe you should go find her. Encourage her to come down to eat something.' He grinned as Ron's ears turned a bright shade of red. He slowly nodded, suspicion visible in his eyes. 'Maybe,' he said slowly.

Harry watched Ron walk away. He shook his head in amusement. Somehow, he doubted Ron had come to clear terms with his own feelings. He would need a little push here and there in the right direction. Harry wasn't about to let his two best friends bicker and argue for another year. They were at war, and in a war you stayed united to be strong. And he knew he would need every single one of his friends in what was about to be unleashed on the wizarding world. Terror and darkness like they had not seen in fifteen years. With a deep sight he walked to the Great Hall, this somber thought swirling in his head.


End file.
